


The Owl And The Feather

by Speckleflower



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s), Past Miraculous Holders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:41:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24481435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Speckleflower/pseuds/Speckleflower
Summary: "I can feel her rage and I can’t calm it! She will lay waste to the village. She will level the ground. I- I need to do something,” she finished, voice rising in anguish.“But what?” Ryuusa inquired.Duusu contemplated for a second, and in that long moment, the trees seemed to tense, the only sound conceivable the swish of leaves on branches high above. She could only think of one answer, and she hated it.“I’m going to break my miraculous.”
Relationships: Original Miraculous Holder Character(s)/Original Miraculous Holder Character(s)
Kudos: 9
Collections: May 2020 - Past Holders





	The Owl And The Feather

A fire raged through the village. Tongues of crimson flame lapped at buildings; roaring blazes lit up the grey shadows, dancing high in the commotion. People were fleeing, screaming hysterically as they tried in vain to retrieve their most cherished belongings from their houses. Others desperately clawed at locked doors, crying their children’s names. But to no avail.

In the middle of it all, stood a young woman in a hooded purple cloak, face a mask of fury, standing side on to a boy her age, who was on his knees, fearful eyes locked into her stone gaze and hands raised in front of him for protection he would never get, pleading as blood streamed from the knife wound in his leg that had felled him. Glaring at him with eyes that gleamed like cold gems, catching the firelight, the woman’s hands clenched into fists as behind her rampaged a stone monster tall as the trees making up the vast forest that surrounded the village, shooting fire from its molten hands and crushing buildings under ashen feet. Scarlet flames glinted in the woman’s eyes, dangerous orbs of pure anger. Duusu watched fearfully, trapped in the miraculous pinned to the woman’s chest, unable to do anything but watch the events unfold.

Duusu shook herself awake, breathing heavily. _No_. That terrifying glimpse of the future had shaken her to the core. She couldn’t let It happen. Her wide eyes flitted around, trying to find solace in the unmoving trees surrounding her to pacify her spinning head. After a moment, she gently nudged Ryuusa, her fellow kwami, whispering urgently, “Wake up.” The owl kwami shifted, fixing his amber gaze on her. She motioned for him to join her a few metres away from the bundle of blankets on the bed of leaf mulch that was Amirah, Duusu’s holder. “Something bad is going to happen,” she hissed. “After what’s been happening over the last few days, Amirah is going to snap. I saw it in… a- a vision. I can feel her rage and I can’t calm it! She will lay waste to the village. She will level the ground. I- I need to do something,” she finished, voice rising in anguish.

“But what?” Ryuusa inquired.

Duusu contemplated for a second, and in that long moment, the trees seemed to tense, the only sound conceivable the swish of leaves on branches high above. She could only think of one answer, and she hated it.

“I’m going to break my miraculous.”

She had to do this. Before it was too late. She had to stop Amirah. No, _Amethyst Feather. My Amirah is gone_.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Ryuusa’s tail feathers twitched.

“It’s the only way.”

“What would happen when Amirah transforms?”

“I don’t know. It could cripple her. But she won’t be able to use the power it would normally give her. And that’s all that matters.”

“You might lose your memories. In fact, you most probably will.”

Duusu hesitated for a second, before answering with, “You can help with that, right?”

“Indeed I can. I should be able to restore them after- I am the kwami of recollection after all.” Ryuusa bowed his head and took a step back.

Duusu stared at the ground after giving a brief nod. This would hurt her- but she had to do it. She had to take on this responsibility. It was her fault after all.

But was it? She didn’t know. She had at first been so interested in Amirah- the young girl that had found the miraculous of the peacock had shown so much promise. She remembered the day Amirah had discovered her, with her best friend Hassan, who had found the miraculous of the owl alongside her. Duusu had been sceptical to be used by a child so young, but after just a few days of being with her, she had had no qualms about revealing the full powers of the peacock brooch to her- the girl had, and up until recently had remained to be, one of the most mature she had met.

The companionship between her and Hassan was so beautiful- they had been in love for years, and best friends for even more. Since Amirah had been found wandering outside the village walls as a grubby child, who barely spoke their language, and had been taken in by Hassan’s neighbour, an old woman called Amaryllis, they had been inseparable.

Following this, they had grown up together, and after Amirah had first been persuaded to talk and come out of her shell of wide-eyed silence and shyness by Amaryllis and Hassan’s gentle nudging, she had blossomed into a curious, energetic soul, and they had often gone on ‘adventures’ together, on one of which she and Hassan had found Duusu and Ryuusa. And using the miraculous, they had undertaken many nightly exploits in the forest surrounding the village; this had only increased their already strong bond.

And this friendship had definitely grown into love, a fierce affection they felt for each other and compulsion to protect one another. But they hadn’t yet explored this love, taken it any further than mild flirting. But they fitted together so well, like two rivers, that had been lost, dwindling on their separate paths until they intertwined, creating a strong crystal chain, sparkling with intensity.

But then a dark downward spiral had followed. A few days ago, a bedraggled group had shown up at the gates, claiming to be Amirah’s long lost family. As soon as she had seen them, in a wavering voice Amirah had confirmed it. She had arrived here so young, been separate from her relatives so long, yet she still was so sure that this was her family.

The village was currently experiencing a famine, and had refused the group entry for fear that spreading resources even thinner would lead to greater problems. Amirah had blanched at this, demanding that they be let in, that she would provide everything they needed. But the village elders never relented- letting in strange new people was not their way, and even though Amirah reasoned that how had she, a lost child, been let in, when these people who could barely stand were denied access, they insisted that they couldn’t.

The next day, four bodies lay frail outside the stone walls.

Amirah had screamed, directed her anger at anyone and everyone who dared to get in her way, before storming away to her house, transforming and fleeing, leaving a burning grain store in her wake, yelling to all who could hear that they should feel the loneliness and sorrow her family had been forced to experience. Of course Hassan had followed her, and the villagers had seen Amethyst Feather, with Night Owl close behind, skimming the rooftops, the former’s movements jagged and forced, angry, the latter’s fluid and graceful, disappearing into the forest beyond. Here they had been living for the past two days, sleeping on blankets stashed in a hollow tree trunk from their previous ventures, while Amirah’s anger stewed, and Hassan tried to reason with her. But Duusu knew what she would soon do, even if it was unintentional, even if she tried to hold back. The kwami had seen it in a vision, and it had only confirmed her existing suspicions.

With the peacock miraculous, Amirah had power. Too much power.

Duusu shuddered, before taking a deep breath and gathering all her energy, until she could visualise it as a writhing sphere, a representation of all she was. She placed her miraculous in front of her, settled on the low branch of the tree she and her companion were perched on, and shut her eyes. She only needed to concentrate for a second.

She shot into the air, feathers splayed out, violet energy crackling around her. Then her eyes snapped open- miniature suns, shining too bright to look at. But not for Ryuusa, who watched warily, fearful for his friend.

Duusu let out a terrible scream as the glow surrounded her; to Ryuusa she was suspended in time, mouth open in a silent howl of agony, soundless, but in her reality the scream echoed around her mind, bouncing off walls that were fast closing in, walls that hadn’t been there previously.

For a moment she cowered in terror, but then she stood firm. She knew she would lose the memories of what she had done. But it had to happen, there was no other way.

She felt fear, yes. But also resolve. As the memory of Amirah slipped from her grasp, she held on to the fact that she was doing this for a reason. A good reason.

The miraculous glowed sickly pink, then tendrils of indigo and purple shot out, curling around the brooch, creating obsidian cracks that pulsed with energy; it appeared like it was about to burst, scattering pieces of it everywhere… but then it subsided. The miraculous looked the same as before, yet unmistakeably a little duller, less full of life. Violet not so vibrant, indigo a dulled blemish.

Duusu collapsed and Ryuusa rushed towards her without hesitation, hauling her back onto the branch as her tiny body threatened to slip off. “Are you ok?” he hurriedly called, but she didn’t answer, eyes remaining tightly shut.

Then Ryuusa heard voices in the trees. He jerked his head towards the bundles of blankets on the ground… which, at a slight rustle from the wind, clearly contained no sleeping bodies. Amirah and Hassan were not asleep. He didn’t have much time- he had to restore Duusu’s memories. His ears swivelled as he strained to perceive what they were saying.

“How could you betray me like this, Hassan? I thought we were best friends!”

“We are! And I’m not the one betraying here, it’s you! You’re going too far, you don’t have to do this!”

“You don’t understand, I need to! I need to make them _pay_ for what they did to me.”

The two came into view out of the foliage.

“I do understand, Amirah!” Hassan’s voice was taut with emotion. “I’ve been your closest friend for so many years, I know what it’s like.” He grabbed her hand and she whipped around, auburn hair flying. “But you can’t kill innocent people!”

“They’re not innocent, they killed my family!” She wrenched her arm back and he stopped in his tracks.

“They were just doing what they thought was best for the village!”

Amirah, rage clouding her features into a grey storm, crossed the clearing in a few short seconds, grabbed Duusu’s miraculous and pinned it to her tunic, forcing a gasp out of Ryuusa.

He had run out of time. Amirah’s harsh voice pierced his mind, and he knew he would never forget the way the raw pain in her transformation marred her usually sweet demeanour as she cried,

“Duusu, spread my feathers!”

The explosion etched the sky with trails of crimson.


End file.
